As an anthropologist specializing in Caribbean cultures, Dr. Diana J. Fox always looks for ways to help improve the lives of those she is working with.
A professor and the chairperson of the Department of Anthropology, Dr. Fox is doing just that as the co-leader of a fund drive to help a struggling school deep in the Blue Mountain range of Jamaica. Professor Fox has visited the Cascade Primary School three times as part of regular study tours she makes with students to the Caribbean.
Visiting this past summer, she and Dr. Allyson Ferrante– assistant professor of English and coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program who is co-leading the fund drive – learned that the school faces closure due to limited finances and an enrollment shortfall, as well as the lack of a protective fence around the hilly site, according to Dr. Fox.
The fund drive seeks to pay for a fence, supplies, and a school van and driver. Without transportation, many students have to walk up to four hours round-trip to attend the school, the cause of the low enrollment.
Along with Jamaican food and music, the Sept. 29 event – set for 6 to 9 p.m. at the United Unitarian Church in Bridgewater, next to campus, 50 School St. – will include testimonials by students who visited the school.
“They want to talk about why it’s important to keep the school open and the fact that if it closes, these kids will lose any opportunity for further education,” Fox said.
Dr. Fox said the project aligns well with one of BSU’s key priorities. Engaging with and helping people from different cultures “teaches students about social justice and about being global citizens,” she said.
